When I was about 7 years old, my dad would take the whole family during the weekends or on school breaks to a house that he was staying in when he was still stationed in a rather rural district. It
was one of those wooden stilt house with tall staircases and it was situated in a housing area that was rather close to the jungle. The house my dad resided in was the last house in the row and the
road in front of it would end right before the treeline that was probably about a couple of steps away.

For the most part, the immediate area around the house was clear except for some tall grasses here and there but the view would go for as far as the eyes can see which means that there was barely
any obstruction to hinder one’s sight of its surroundings and the area wasn’t even gated. I remember walking along the balcony and peering through the wooden pillars to observe the houses around
the area and I particularly remember staring at the house next door that had the same design as ours.

For so as far as I can remember, I’ve never seen the house being occupied in spite coming to that place for the past two years. I don’t think my dad ever mentioned if there ever were occupants in
that house and being a kid at age, I guess I didn’t real care much about it.

Before I go on with telling the main story, let me share my experience of what it feels like to live in such a place at that time.

The day time would be rather hot but not that humid and at night it will be exceptionally cold and the house didn’t have any air-conditioner. Aside from that, there was also no phone line so
believe it or not, should there be any need to use a phone, my dad would use this old radio phone that he had to bring back from the office. Additionally, there were no nearby facilities and the
closest shop would still require a drive all the way to the town and even that, all you’ll get will be just a row of old wooden shop lots.

Oh, did I mention that the place had no TV? Well, actually we did have a television set except that there were no signals available. In case you don’t know what that means, be it an antenna or a
satellite dish, you’ll get nothing at that location so our visual entertainment mainly comes from watching tons of video cassettes on the VCR.

With all that being said, now let’s move on the main part of this story.

Now, I don’t exactly remember all the details but one day, I think it might’ve been around noon or so, that I found myself wondering around the house, going from room to room with no particular
objective in mind. I remember this one room that was on the right side of the house which so happens to be the side that was facing the empty house next door. I’m not sure why but it was the only
room that I barely ventured into during those days and the house had 3 rooms back then. All one us being kids at that time would sleep in the master bedroom along with our parents while the other
room that was facing the jungle would be filled with stuff that we don’t really use, effectively turning it into some sort of a storeroom.

The last room, however, was hardly ever opened and there was only that one time that I saw my mom went in there. For some reason, everyone else seems to be staying away from the room and come to
think of it, there was barely any mention of it in spite the fact that it was just next to the master bedroom. On that particular day, I finally had the “courage” to see what lies within that room
but unfortunately, I found out that it was locked. The handle would turn but the door won’t budge. I’m not sure if it had anything to with my insufficient strength but I clearly remember that the
door just won’t open. After giving it a few more tries, I finally gave up. I moved away from the door but just when I was about to take a couple of more steps, suddenly, I “felt” something.

I’m not sure how to describe it, but it almost felt like a “whisper,” if that actually means anything to any of you. It was as if there was a voice inside my head telling me to go back and try
again. Kids can be very imaginative at that age, I know, but it was hard to ignore that intuition especially when I was still very close to the door. I looked at it for awhile before finally
deciding to give it another shot.

This will sound like something that came straight out of a movie, but I’m telling you, I was able to open the door this time. The handle would again turn and the door moved inwards. I remember the
creaky sound that the hinges makes as I finally lay my eyes on its interior. Would you like to know what I saw in that room? Nothing. Well, not nothing as in empty but nothing worth mentioning. It
was just filled with more stuff just like the other room only this one was filled with old mattresses and a couple of stuff wrapped up in black plastic bags on the floor. It was very disappointing
to say the least.

I looked around for awhile before moving towards the center of the room. If I was an adult back then, there was probably not enough space for me to walk around on the inside but as a kid, I didn’t
mind walking around those stuff on the floor before making my way towards the window. The balcony from the next room would stretch all the way towards the front of that window but there was no
access to it from that room. It had only a window that would allow me a glimpse of the house next door, specifically the balcony and window that was similar to this house.

I must’ve stared at it for no more than a few seconds when I thought I saw someone peering through the window in the next house but it happened so quickly that it was gone in a blink of an eye.
When I looked at it again, the person was no longer there. I stood there temporarily befuddled with what I might have seen. Oh, and I forgot to tell you about the smell of musty air that hangs
inside the room due to the fact that it was always locked up and the window itself was closed. I will admit that the window might’ve been a little dusty at that time, so I could’ve been seeing
things due to lack of proper vision but then again as I was about to turn around, from right out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone standing at the balcony of the empty house.

I don’t exactly remember what he looked like but the figure was roughly about my size. He was peering through the pillars just like I would when I’m on the balcony so I finally told myself that
there’s probably a family next door and that there’s a kid about my age on the balcony. The weird part was that the kid kept staring in my direction, almost as if he can see me and not just the
balcony or the dusty window. Surprisingly, I just stood there, not knowing if I should say or do something. But then, not a moment too soon, something “shocking” happened. That kid simply climbs up
the railing and believe it or not, jumps down to the ground.

Now, if you were an adult, jumping from that height would be somewhat normal, but for a kid of my size? I guess it depends on how you land and that kid that just jumped off from his balcony and
landed with the agility of a cat. He simply lands on the ground with just a slight bend to his knees before proceeding to stare at my window again. That was when my blood started to run cold. You
see, from that distant, one could still make out the other person’s clothes and just the basic outline of what they might look like but this kid? That was just it, there wasn’t anything discernible
about his features.

I remember him wearing probably a t-shirt and a pair of shorts but I don’t think he was wearing any shoes and he just seemed “colorless,” like a photo that have been desaturated to the point of
being almost greyed- out. In other words, he reminded me of a worn-out old photo, only in a form of a person. He just stood there for what felt like a full minute before running away from my view.

At that point, my instinct was telling me to just bolt out of the room but for some reason, I just stood there almost as if I was hoping to see if he comes into view again. After a few more
seconds, I finally had the strength to take a few steps back but right before I can make it to the door, I heard something from outside the window. If you ask me, I wished I had just gone out of
the door and locked it for all of eternity but as any of you might have guessed, my curiosity got the better of me. The door wasn’t even closed and all I had to do was just step outside and close
it but as I turn towards the window again, I swear that I heard what sounds like someone knocking on the wooden walls of the room. It was loud and had a rhythm to it, like one good pounding after
another.

I listened to it for awhile, then after a few seconds, I finally realized what the sound was all about. Outside the window, I saw a figure slowly climbing the railing in front of it and it was
slowly hoisting itself up to the other side before finally settling. I can see its monotone mass just standing outside the window but I was too busy focusing on the entirety of its shape that I had
completely forgotten to look into its face.

Like I said before, how I wished I had just leave the room in the first place. Remember when I said he looked like a worn out old photo? You can’t even begin to imagine what he looks like up-close.
The “boy” that stood outside the window now looked like a drawing or a painting that have been stretched and held up in front of the window. It just stood there, staring at me with those eyes,
looking like a person whose existence can only make sense in a 2 dimensional world. Be that as it may, the figure then immediately went for the window before placing both of its hands on the dusty
surface.

As I said before, I still have no idea why I didn’t just run the hell out of that room. The bland facade with no expression suddenly began to change. I can actually see it smiling and as I continue
with my mistake of waiting longer than I should have, that smile eventually turns into a grin that was slowly showing its teeth as his eyes became more and more “bloodshot.” I’m not exactly sure
what happened next but I remember closing the door shut and wouldn’t let go of the handle when I saw the figure opening its mouth as wide as it can, showing the inside of its throat with its big
tongue licking the window and its eyes still staring at me.

I remember quivering and sweating as I kept tugging on the door handle, fearing that, that thing will come after me if I let go. Luckily, my mom saw me and immediately asked me what was wrong.
Thing was, I didn’t even cry, not one bit but I was totally horrified with what I just saw. She asked me again what I was doing and I just said, “I’m trying to lock the door.” She looked amused for
a moment and it was only at that time that I let go of the handle. My mom then proceed to turn the handle. For a second there, I almost shouted but then I noticed that the door won’t budge anymore.

“See, it’s locked. Now stop being silly, go outside and play.”

Mom then walked away, leaving me in front of the door, not knowing whether it was actually locked or she just pretended that it was locked. Whatever it was, I didn’t have the courage to find out so
finally I stepped away from the door and from what I can remember, I never step anywhere near the door or even look at the house next door again. I kept the whole thing to myself for years and
years onward. Dad would continue to serve there for the next 2 years before moving on to a better job.

Now, years later, from out of the blue, I randomly asked my dad about that empty house that was next to his old quarters. He asked me what of it and I asked him if anyone ever lived there during
our stay back then.

His answer? He said that there was once a family but they eventually moved out and it had been empty ever since. I asked him again if he remembers when exactly they moved out and I found out it was
roughly around the time when I had that experience.

I didn’t want to ask him any further about the family so I asked him about the room that was always locked. According to him, he barely goes in there himself and it was only ever unlocked about one
or two times during our stay there. He insisted that there was nothing in there except for an old empty cupboard with nothing else and even the window was never opened.

Hearing that, I just decided that it’s best if I just stop asking about it and just chalked up the whole thing to nothing more than figments of my imagination. I mean I was just a kid, right?